B.C. teacher left child alone to pee in dark classroom

A Coquitlam teacher has been reprimanded and made to take a remedial course after leaving a young child who frequently wet herself all alone in a dark classroom.

Anita Louise Bell had failed to notice that a four-year-old student “wet herself frequently” while in school, according to a report recently issued by the Teachers Regulation Branch. Bell also did not come up with a “clear and appropriate” plan to help the child not wet herself.

When Bell and the child’s parents spoke about the wetting issue in September 2017, Bell asked the parent’s if they “intended to have more children.”

A couple weeks after that, Bell’s class went to an assembly in the gym.

As they were leaving, the student had another accident and Bell left her alone to use the classroom washroom before meeting the rest of the class in the gym.

The report said that when the student came out of the washroom into the dark and empty classroom, she felt “scared.”

Bell “forgot” about the student for 20 minutes before remembering and going to get her.

Leaving a child of a “tender age” alone in the classroom created a “significant” safety risk, the report said.

The school district sent Bell a letter of reprimand in October 2017 and required her to take a course in creating positive learning environments through the Justice Institute of B.C. by the end of next April.